Jagex to publish Runescape-inspired idle game Melvor Idle

Runescape developer Jagex's publishing wing has picked up a promising indie release for its Jagex Partners label, making Melvor Idle an indie no longer. The idler game, similar to games like Clicker Heroes or Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, released on Steam last year and wears its influences from Jagex's flagship Runescape very proudly. 

Melvor Idle is a detailed, multi-track idle game that seeks to reimagine "the core components of the RuneScape franchise in a way that they could be enjoyed casually," says the publisher. It's a fairly feature-rich idle game, one that has a lot of things to craft and progress, as well as an emphasis on zero prestige mechanics requiring a game restart.

Jagex apparently became aware of the project in early 2020, and a lot of the publisher's staff were fans of it after its official Steam launch in October of that year. 

As you can imagine, the developer is pretty happy to be hooked up with the creators of one of their favorite games. “Being able to work with Jagex directly on this has been a dream come true," said Brendan Malcolm, the solo developer behind Melvor Idle studio Games by Malcs.

Malcolm posted a long Q&A to the game's Reddit community, making clear that he would maintain complete creative control moving forward and that the game's single-purchase monetization model wouldn't change. Jagex, he said, had "no desire" to change anything about Melvor Idle. The publishing agreement will see Jagex take on the marketing, localisation, tech support, and QA for Melvor Idle.

You can try out Melvor Idle for free on its official website and buy it on Steam. I've popped it open while writing this story and I am already very good at chopping down trees.